Dubbed "the writer's film festival," AFF brings an assortment of creatives and world premieres to town. Hobnob with acclaimed screenwriters and try to get your spec screenplay into the hands of studio executives. Festival passes cost $50 or $12 per ticket, and are available online or at the venues.

We could probably just mention that this exhibition (featuring a quintet of assemblage artists) contains work by Steve Brudniak and watch the smarter crowds gather for some deep gawking … but we wouldn't want to diss the talented likes of Barbara Irwin, John Sager, Larry Seaman, and Steve Wiman – whose complex three-dimensional creations are also well worthy of your time.

They could have thrown out the mold for monster movies after they made this one. It's the mother lode to which we constantly return. Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas performs a live score to accompany this classic.

70mm: Carpenter remakes this 1951 sci-fi classic about shape-shifting aliens from the Antarctic. Much grislier than Howard Hawks' original, Carpenter's version is also more a study of internalization than group dynamics.

That excellent gallery in Canopy presents a group exhibit featuring work by Texas artists who are inspired by any of the natural sciences as a majority of their current artistic practice. Which, lucky for the viewer, means that the talents represented include Laurie Frick, Jules Buck Jones, Calder Kamin, Cathy Savage, David Martínez, and more. Quant suff! Recommended!

Celebrate the dance, citizen, celebrate the danse macabre. This new Blanton show, curated by Elizabeth Welch, features works on paper spanning from the 15th to the 20th centuries, highlighting the visual tradition of bringing death to life, showcasing both the fear of mortality and the fun in life.